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Experience Hogwarts With This Virtual Library Escape Room

Libraries across the country are closing their doors to slow the spread of COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped serving their communities. One library in McMurray, Pennsylvania created an online Harry Potter escape room to keep local teens entertained at home.

Peters Township Public Library’s digital escape room includes a variety of magic-themed puzzles, set during your first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You can complete it alone or in a group—or even compete with friends to see who gets the fastest time.

Sydney Krawiec, Youth Services Librarian at PTPL, designed the virtual escape room after Pennsylvania’s public libraries closed in March. She had designed several in-person escape rooms in the past (including two with a Harry Potter theme), so she decided to try creating one online. “As my colleagues and I started brainstorming ways to share resources and do digital storytimes, I kept wishing we could provide something that would bring a family together in a more interactive way than just watching a screen,” she told I Love Libraries. “I wanted to start a conversation.”

In addition to the escape room, PTPL staff are working hard to keep Peters Township residents connected, informed, and entertained. “We are doing our best to issue library cards via email and share out additional resources to our community during this time,” Sydney said. “Staff members have done virtual storytimes and we are working on bringing more programming to our patrons.”